Post Vigil for slain transgender woman draws over 200
By Lou Chibbaro Jr. on February 8, 2012

More than 200 people turned out for a candlelight vigil Tuesday night at the site of a Northeast Washington bus stop where transgender woman Deoni Jones, 23, was fatally stabbed on Feb. 2 while waiting for a bus.



Surrounded by family members and friends, Jones’ stepfather, Alvin Bethea, made an emotional appeal for witnesses to come forward to identify a male suspect that police believe stabbed Jones in the face about 8:15 p.m. at the bus stop at East Capitol Street and Sycamore Road, N.E.

“We suspect that the person who did this lives in this community or hangs out in this community,” Bethea said. “Help the Metropolitan Police Department out… If anybody knows anything, please contact them.”

Bethea and other family members and friends who spoke at the vigil through a bullhorn provided by a member of the police department’s Gay & Lesbian Liaison Unit described Jones as warm and considerate, saying she lifted their spirits and made them laugh.

Police said this week that a video they released last Friday showing the suspect crossing a street from a distance prompted several people to contact investigators with information that is helping the department’s Homicide Branch in its investigation of the murder.

The video, which has been posted on YouTube, doesn’t clearly show the suspect’s face. But police said they were hopeful that someone who knows the person in question would recognize him in the video and reveal his identity to police homicide investigators.

In an interview with the Blade on the day police released the video, Lt. Robert Adler of the Homicide Branch described the suspect as a black male, 30 to 40 years old, about five-feet-nine to six-feet tall, with a medium build and medium complexion and sporting a beard.

“At the time of the incident the person was wearing a black jacket with a grey hooded sweatshirt underneath it and a pair of what we believe is jeans,” Adler said.

He said investigators obtained the description of the suspect “from a variety of different sources.”More than 200 people turned out for a candlelight vigil Tuesday night at the site of a Northeast Washington bus stop where transgender woman Deoni Jones, 23, was fatally stabbed on Feb. 2 while waiting for a bus.

Surrounded by family members and friends, Jones’ stepfather, Alvin Bethea, made an emotional appeal for witnesses to come forward to identify a male suspect that police believe stabbed Jones in the face about 8:15 p.m. at the bus stop at East Capitol Street and Sycamore Road, N.E.

“We suspect that the person who did this lives in this community or hangs out in this community,” Bethea said. “Help the Metropolitan Police Department out… If anybody knows anything, please contact them.”

Bethea and other family members and friends who spoke at the vigil through a bullhorn provided by a member of the police department’s Gay & Lesbian Liaison Unit described Jones as warm and considerate, saying she lifted their spirits and made them laugh.

Police said this week that a video they released last Friday showing the suspect crossing a street from a distance prompted several people to contact investigators with information that is helping the department’s Homicide Branch in its investigation of the murder.

The video, which has been posted on YouTube, doesn’t clearly show the suspect’s face. But police said they were hopeful that someone who knows the person in question would recognize him in the video and reveal his identity to police homicide investigators.

In an interview with the Blade on the day police released the video, Lt. Robert Adler of the Homicide Branch described the suspect as a black male, 30 to 40 years old, about five-feet-nine to six-feet tall, with a medium build and medium complexion and sporting a beard.

“At the time of the incident the person was wearing a black jacket with a grey hooded sweatshirt underneath it and a pair of what we believe is jeans,” Adler said.

He said investigators obtained the description of the suspect “from a variety of different sources.”
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Last edited by datkindagal: 9th February 2012 at 11:51 PM